Emperor Sun made his fortune from scratch

After Li Zhao came to the front line, he first rewarded all the soldiers heavily, and then met with Shen Ning alone and talked to him in detail about the next battle.

Shen Ning told Li Zhao that since the Zhaowu Army's Eastern Expedition, more than 50,000 soldiers have been killed and wounded. Although a large number of soldiers have been recruited locally, they have not been able to form combat effectiveness in a short period of time. The tens of thousands of captured Qi troops cannot be directly incorporated into the Zhaowu Army, and they still need to go through relevant assessment and training.

Although Shen Ning didn't say it explicitly, Li Zhao already understood what he meant.

The war will inevitably bring huge material consumption, and in order to support the more than 100,000 Zhaowu troops in this eastward crusade, Li Zhao almost hollowed out Shu and Hanzhong. If the army is used on a large scale now, it will be difficult to transfer grain from Shu.

Everything should be done in moderation, and you should not be in a hurry, otherwise it may cause backlash.

In addition to internal reasons, the opponent of the Zhaowu army was not necessarily only the Qi army. Yuan Mingqin, the envoy of the Xiangyang Jiedu, and Chang Xuan, the envoy of the Huainan Jiedu, have recently stationed troops on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and their intentions are unknown.

After some deep thought, Li Zhao decided to temporarily withdraw the army and recuperate. After digesting the results of this battle, a new round of crusade will be launched.

Soon, a large number of officials from the Qin Palace's palace rushed to Yueyang, Wuling and other places one after another.

Things such as coercion and redistribution of land are carried out in an orderly and slow manner.

In order to buy more time, Li Zhao sent Zhou Ming to Jinling to negotiate peace with Qi and discuss the armistice.

Anyway, the so-called agreements, contracts and the like are meant to be torn up.

In order to show his sincerity, Li Zhao was willing to give up the two cities on the front line and form a brotherly country with the Qi State.

Of course, Qin is a brother, and Qi is a brother.

Shortly after Zhou Ming's departure, Shi Ai asked to see Li Zhao.

Recently, he had nothing to do, so he took a boat to the north bank of the river for a walk, and when he came back, he had some thoughts about Xiangyang.

Shi Ai believes that Xiangyang is rich in products and has been an important military town since ancient times, and its location is a transportation hub connecting the middle reaches of the Yangtze River with the Central Plains and Guanzhong.

If the Qin State can occupy Xiangyang and expand its strength, it can send troops from here for the Northern Expedition in the future. Attack Nanyang, Bianzhou and other places, and participate in the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains.

Even if the Northern Expedition is not planned at present, the city of Xiangyang is tall and strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and with Xiangyang, it can greatly strengthen the defense of the Qin State.

Shi Ai proposed, regardless of whether the peace talks could succeed or not, to first capture Xiangyang, and then continue to attack the state of Qi.

If Li Zhao agreed, he was willing to lead the Zhaowu army of 50,000 to attack Yuan Mingqin and seize Xiangyang and the surrounding areas.

Li Zhao was a little tempted, but considered that Xiangyang nominally belonged to the Wei State. Before sending troops, it is necessary to test the attitude of Emperor Li Kun of Wei.

If Li Kun clearly opposes, Li Zhao will have to think about it carefully.

Wei never sent troops to Hanzhong, which helped Li Zhao a lot, and he couldn't completely turn his face with Li Kun for the time being.

...............................................................................................................

After Zhou Ming brought the delegation to Jinling, Emperor Jiang Ningxian of Qi did not see him for the time being, so he arranged for him to live in a post house.

Seeing that Qi Guo did not expel him at the first time, Zhou Ming secretly guessed that Jiang Ningxian was a little tempted.

The news that Li Zhao had sent an envoy to the peace talks soon spread far and wide, and the city of Jinling was in an uproar.

At first, many people thought it was a rumor, but later they found out that it was true, and they suddenly felt ridiculous in their hearts!

The two sides had killed rivers of blood, killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and had already formed a deep hatred; Li Zhao actually had the face to send people to the peace talks, saying that in order to avoid the misery of life, he hoped to coexist peacefully with the Qi State.

Only fools believe this kind of nonsense.

However, on how to deal with Zhou Ming, the DPRK and China did not reach a consensus.

During the court discussion, some people had a resolute attitude and demanded that Zhou Ming be beheaded immediately to show the public, so as to show the determination of the imperial court and the Zhaowu army to die endlessly.

Some people, however, agreed to negotiate peace, believing that the imperial court had just suffered a major defeat and that its vitality had been greatly damaged, and that it was not appropriate to start another war; since Li Zhao was now willing to cease fighting, there was no reason to refuse.

The two sides quarreled so much that Yu Yizheng, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Xiao Ye, the imperial historian, even disregarded etiquette, and fought in public and slapped each other.

In addition to the two of them, there were many more hand-to-hand fights, and there was chaos in the courtroom.

It wasn't until the palace guards forcibly intervened that the fight stopped, and Jiang Ningxian on the dragon chair had an angry face.

Zhou Ming stayed in Jinling for many days, wandering around the city every day, or going out of the city to enjoy the mountains and rivers. He was often ignored by people who glared at him or verbally abused him. With the protection of the Qi soldiers beside him, he was not worried about assassination.

The reason why there is no hurry, so the purpose of the trip is to delay time, and the longer it is delayed, the better.

Zhou Ming didn't care about the controversy within Qi State, and let them quarrel.

However, he also discovered one thing, Emperor Jiang Ningxian's prestige in the court has been greatly reduced, and his control over the court is gradually declining.

In particular, a few days ago, he dismissed Generalissimo Liu Zhijie from his post, which aroused strong opposition from many ministers of the DPRK and China. Even the prince Jiang Yan also played, bluntly saying that this move was very inappropriate.

Jiang Ningxian wanted to agree to negotiate peace with Li Zhao, but the DPRK and China were unable to reach an agreement, and there were many objections.

Just as Zhou Ming continued to be leisurely in Jinling, Li Zhao sent him something, and Zhou Ming understood. Contact the official of Qi who was in charge of the reception, ask to meet Jiang Ningxian, and tell him about the big thing.

Without delay, Qi officials reported the matter, which was quickly approved.

Under the leadership of the palace people, Zhou Ming entered the main hall.

Looking up at Jiang Ningxian, compared to Emperor Wei Li Kun, Jiang Ningxian was a little younger, and there was a faint hint of yin between his eyebrows.

"In the next Zhou Ming, I have seen Your Majesty. Zhou Ming saluted.

Jiang Ningxian said coldly: "You want to see me, what is the matter?"

Zhou Ming took out three letters from his sleeve, "Your Majesty, these letters were sent by Huainan Changxuan, I believe Your Majesty will be interested in the things inside." If you doubt the authenticity of the letter, you can also find someone to discern it. After

the palace man took the letter, he handed it to Jiang Ningxian.

After Jiang Ningxian read the content, he immediately became angry. In the letter, Chang Xuan repeatedly urged Li Zhao to use troops against the state as soon as possible, and also said that if the Zhaowu army attacked Changsha or Wuchang, the Huainan army would definitely send troops to cooperate.

These letters were all true, and after Li Zhao received the letter, he did not hesitate to betray Chang Xuan.

"Chang Xuan is a wolf, and the king of my family does not want to be with him, so he sent a letter to His Majesty to show his sincerity. Zhou Ming said.

Jiang Ningxian fell into deep thought, Huainan was too close to Jinling, and Chang Xuan had recently started to build warships, and his intentions were obvious. But if Huainan is attacked, he is worried that Li Zhao will take the opportunity to attack.

As if seeing Jiang Ningxian's thoughts, Zhou Ming said: "Your Majesty, rest assured, the king of my family is willing to sign a contract with the Qi State;

"What if Li Zhao tears up the contract?" Jiang Ningxian asked.

Zhou Ming looked serious, "Your Majesty, rest assured, the king of my family values the most credit, and he never backtracks."

"What if it's really torn up?" Jiang Ningxian still didn't believe it.

Zhou Ming suddenly felt funny in his heart for asking such a stupid question.

Blinking his eyes, Zhou Ming said: "King Qin is willing to marry His Majesty and ask to marry the princess of Qi Kingdom." Between Qin and Qi, they will always be together. "